 Very good evening to all our friends and welcome to the Hindu News Analysis of Shankar IAS Academy for the date 20th November 2020. Here is the list of the relevant news articles taken for today's discussion from five different editions of the Hindu newspaper along with their page numbers. Also the handwritten notes in the PDF format and time stampings for all the news articles taken for today's discussion is given in the description box and also in the comment section for the best interest of the viewers. Let us now begin with our news analysis for today. First, let us take up this editorial which talks about a recent moratorium which was imposed by the Reserve Bank of India. Recently, the Reserve Bank of India has brought in a draft scheme of amalgamation of the Laxmi Vilas Bank Ltd with DBS Bank India Ltd. Now that DBS Bank India Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of DBS Bank Ltd which is based in Singapore. So in this context, let us discuss this editorial and also the important economic terms mentioned in it. The relevant syllabus is highlighted here for your reference. Please go through it. Know that the Laxmi Vilas Bank Ltd is a banking company registered under the Companies Act of 1956. And over the last few years, its financial position has been deteriorating rapidly in terms of liquidity, capital and other critical parameters. And despite this, the bank also lacked a credible plan for infusion of capital. So this necessitated the RBA to take immediate action in the interest of the depositors. And subsequently, the Laxmi Vilas Bank was placed under moratorium a few days back. So this has been done by the RBA in exercise of the powers conferred by section 45 clause 2 of the Banking Regulations Act of 1949. It says that though the moratorium can be extended, the total period should not exceed six months. Here we shall remember that in the recent past, the RBA had put yes bank under this moratorium. So what exactly is a moratorium? First of all, during this period, the center stays the continuance of all the actions and proceedings against a banking company. The stay is subjected to certain restrictions on the bank. For example, in making payments to the creditors and depositors, then strict conditions to repay the loans granted to the banking company by the RBA or any other bank, etc. Now coming to section 45 clause 4 of Banking Regulations Act, during the moratorium period, RBA may prepare a scheme for the reconstruction of the banking company or for its amalgamation with any other banking institution. So this can be done only if the RBA is satisfied that such a scheme is necessary in the public interest or in the interest of the depositors or in order to secure the proper management of the banking company or in the interest of the banking system of the country as a whole. Now coming to the editorial, the author praises the timely intervention of the RBA when in 2019 the Laxmi Vilas Bank was placed under the Prompt Corrective Action framework. See, when we talk about the Prompt Corrective Action, know that it is a framework under which banks with weak financial metrics are put under watch by the Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank has specified certain regulatory trigger points as a part of this framework. They are the Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio or CRAR, then the Net Non-Performing Assets or NPA and Return on Assets or ROA. And in addition to these three, the Reserve Bank of India also set limits of leverage ratio. Now talking about the Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio or CRAR or Capital Education Ratio, it is a measure of sufficiency of banks on capital to cover risks. The CRAR is the ratio of the bank's capital to the risk-weighted assets of the bank. Here you can see the formula. See, you need not go deep into it. Simply, Capital Education Ratio is the ratio of a bank's capital to its risks. And it is used to protect the depositors and promote the stability and efficiency of the financial system of the country. Now coming to Non-Performing Assets, it refers to a classification for loans that are in default or in arrears. A loan is said to be in arrears when the principal or the interest payments are late or missed. And talking about Return of Assets, see it is an indicator of how profitable a company is relative to its total assets. It is calculating by dividing a company's net income by its total assets. So this is about the Capital Education Ratio, then the Non-Performing Assets and the Return of Assets. Now finally, the author also talks about the Financial Stability Report. See, it is a bi-annual report released by the Reserve Bank of India. This report assesses the risks to the financial stability of the nation and also the resilience of the financial system. To know more about its findings, refer to our 25th July Hindu News Analysis. So in this discussion, we saw about the Moratorium, then Prompt Character Action Framework of Reserve Bank of India, and also the Capital Education Ratio, Non-Performing Assets, then Return of Assets, and finally the Financial Stability Report of RBI. So this is all about this discussion. With this, let us move on to the next news. Now this news article mentions that the Madras High Court has criticised the State Government of Tamil Nadu for not constituting the constitutionally mandated metropolitan planning committees in the metropolitan areas. So in this context, let us discuss about the Metropolitan Planning Committees, the relevant constitutional provisions, and the news. The syllabus relevant for this analysis is highlighted here for your reference. Please go through it. First know that MPC is a constitutionally mandated body. Under the Constitution, 74th Amendment Act of 1992, there is a mandatory provision for the constitution of MPC in all the metropolitan areas by the State Governments. See, as you know that the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act were passed by the Parliament in 1992. And through these amendments, local self-governance was introduced in the rural and urban India. And these amendments added two new parts to the constitution. The 73rd Amendment added Part 9, that is the Panchayats to the Constitution. And 74th Amendment added Part 9A, that is the Municipalities to the Constitution. And this Part 9A inserted Article 243P to 243ZG to the Constitution of India. Now our focus is on metropolitan areas and the Metropolitan Planning Committees under the Part 9A of the Indian Constitution. See, as per Article 243P, metropolitan area means an area having a population of 10 lakhs or more and that area should be comprised in one or more districts and it should consist of two or more municipalities or Panchayats or other contiguous areas. And such an area should be specified by the Governor as metropolitan area through a notification. Next, the Metropolitan Planning Committees or MPCs are mandated by the Article 243ZE in every metropolitan area. See, generally metropolitan areas are composed of several local bodies comprising municipal corporation, municipalities, Nagar Panchayats and rural areas. But the development authorities created in these metropolitan areas were not able to bring all these stakeholders on a single platform. And this is why MPCs were mandated. So MPCs are to play an important role as an intergovernmental, interorganizational and politically representative forum. MPC is required to prepare a development plan for the entire metropolitan area as notified by the state government. The development plan should be indicative of the vision and the strategy for integrated and coordinated development of the metropolitan area. And it will have to incorporate the plans of municipalities and Panchayats falling under the metropolitan area. Now according to Article 243ZE clause 2, the legislature of the state may by law make provisions with respect to the constitution, composition, membership and other details for operationalizing the functioning of the Metropolitan Planning Committee. So what is the composition of MPC? See, as per Article 243ZE clause 2, at least two-third of the members of the MPC shall be elected from amongst the elected members of the municipalities and chairpersons of the Panchayats in the metropolitan area. Additionally, the central government has given a direction for other members in addition to the two-third of elected members. So MPC may have ex-officer members compressing officers of the concerned departments of the state government at the secretary level and also then experts and members from various organizations, agencies, corporations, NGOs which are working in the respective metropolitan areas. MPC should also have representatives from the government of India, particularly from ministries related to urban development, housing and urban poverty elevation, railways, transport, telecommunication, etc. Now as per the directions, the Metropolitan Development Authority or the Urban Development Authority already created in the metropolitan areas may function as the technical secretariat of the MPC. The direction also provides suggestions of functions that may be assigned to the Metropolitan Planning Committees and it is given here for your reference, please go through it. And note that for constituting the MPCs, states have taken two routes. One route is enacting a separate enabling legislation for MPCs and this route is taken by states such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, etc. Here remember that the government of West Bengal was the first to constitute the Kolkata Metropolitan Planning Committee in the country. Now the other route is making some amendments in the existing town and country planning acts of the states and the provision for the constitution of MPC may be made in the existing act and this route was taken by Gujarat. Now today's news is with respect to Tamil Nadu and as you can note, Tamil Nadu has taken the first route and enacted the Tamil Nadu Metropolitan Planning Committee Act of 2009. And according to the article, there are more than 10 corporations in Tamil Nadu which come under the category of metropolitan area. But so far, the Metropolitan Planning Committee has been constituted only in Chennai and not in other metropolitan areas of Tamil Nadu. So in this regard, the Madras High Court has criticised this careless attitude of the Tamil Nadu government and has passed an interim order summoning some important officials to explain the delay in constituting the Metropolitan Planning Committees in other metropolitan areas of Tamil Nadu. So with this, we have come to the end of discussion of this news article. In this discussion, we saw about the metropolitan areas, the Metropolitan Planning Committees and the relevant constitutional provisions. Now let us move on to the next news. Now this lead editorial is with reference to how the world countries are in crisis. The article also talks about the informational autocracy which is the latest danger that threatens democracies all over the world. And we also have this editorial column which is in the context of free speech and hate speech. It presents the observations of the Supreme Court of India and the arguments of the central government when it comes to handling some of the channels that air inflammatory journalism by violating the program code of the Cable Television Network's Regulation Act of 1995. So we shall discuss the relevant aspects for our preparation from these two columns. The syllabus relevant for this analysis is highlighted here for your reference. Please go through it. First let us see why the world is in chaos as given in the lead article. See in the US of America, the incumbent president that is Mr. Donald Trump has not accepted the election results that Mr. Joseph Biden has won. There is also a deep divide in the US and as a result a sizable population are supporting Mr. Donald's claim. The author who is a former national security adviser states that this deep divide is not only seen in USA but it is also acting as a grave danger that confronts many other democratic nations. For example coming to Europe it is destined to lose its current importance in the global politics. On the one side it is grappling with the pandemic and on the other side an uncertain Brexit is going to further damage the prospects of both the United Kingdom and the Europe. Now coming to Russia, the author opens that it remains an enigma or un-understandable or a mystery under the Vladimir Putin. Despite its military strength or strategic congruence with China its future appears increasingly uncertain. And we are hearing news that Mr. Vladimir might step down in January of the next year due to personal ailments. But there is also news that he cleared all his routes to rule the nation till 2036. But there is no sure news yet from Russia in this regard. Now with respect to France the author states that it displays even greater fragility than many other European nations. The recent terror attacks in France appears to have shattered France's claim of being different from most other European and world powers in terms of secularism. Many leaders in France are being accused of Islamophobia. And as a recent initiative France is working to gradually bring its own citizens as Muslim leaders in its country. And this is because as of now many Muslim leaders in France are from foreign countries. And another major threat that keeps world in chaos is the resurfacing of terrorism with a renewed vigor. It was thought that the Islamic State was thoroughly defeated in Syria and Iraq towards the end of 2018. But with the recent attacks in France and Austria it remains its transnational character and the threat it poses to democratic nations. Now another growing concern across the globe is about increasing efforts to manipulate information in order to stay in power indefinitely or for a longer time. Earlier we know that dictatorships and authoritarian regimes were accused of resorting to such tactics. But nowadays these tactics are no longer confined to such repressive regimes. And this is because manipulation of information to achieve certain desired ends is becoming the tricks of the trade ruling parties in democratic regimes as well. The governments in democratic nations today are resorting to manipulate data in order to support its version of events. And therefore informational autocracy is the latest danger that threatens democracies. While this is the scenario of chaos at the global level now let us come to India. See India's democracy has its own problems but it is of a different kind. In some regions like West Bengal the atmosphere today is highly polarized. We know that nowadays a lot of citizens do come out to participate in protests with reference to some of the government's action and here government's action can refer to Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 or the steps on national population register, NRC etc. And in Jammu and Kashmir there is a strong discontent at the political level towards the center. Then the author talks about the India's external environment which is remaining uncertain for a long time. On the one side the downward spiral in the relations with China has not yet been arrested and the author also talks about India's issues with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. See the RCEP countries did not take serious efforts to adjust the agreements to address India's concerns. And this is seen as isolating India in the regional arrangement. The inability to make this regional agreement to suit to our own interests was criticized by the author as a cardinal failure of India's bargaining strategy. At the regional level exclusion from RCEP also reflects the current economic and political power equations in Asia in particular and the Asia Pacific region as a whole. According to the author, though Pakistan is weak internally, it is still provoking India in various aspects. The latest being holding of the assembly elections in Gilgit-Baltistan which is a part of the disputed region between India and Pakistan. Pakistan is also taking efforts to push terrorists into our country in larger numbers. This leads to large scale casualties among the Indian security personnel. And with respect to Afghanistan, India is again being steadily marginalized and the control of Taliban is increasing. Many international players have reluctantly accepted the growing hand of Taliban in Afghanistan. And the stand of India on Taliban is uncertain. Finally the author concludes the article by talking about the one nation which is not in chaos. And this is nothing but China. The current Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to emerge stronger period of time. In 2018, the two term limit for Chinese President was removed so that Xi Jinping can remain as a President till death. And this stability in China is expected to give greater impetus to transform China into a superpower by 2035. Now this is about this editorial. Now the other editorial mainly deals with the conduct of some TV or news media working against the unity of indulging in communalism. Some channels were accused of giving communal color to the incidents of 19 infections among those who attended a religious event in New Delhi. A channel called Sudarshan TV aired evidently false statements in relation to UPSC civil service recruitment and it specifically targeted the Muslim religious community by making the false statements. And with respect to regulation it is found that the present mechanism of self-regulation by the National Broadcasting Standards Authority is ineffective. See any authorized officer is empowered under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act of 1995 to prohibit transmission of programs that violate the program code or the advertising code. Here the central government has the power to even prohibit the operation of any cable television network. However they remain only in legal statutes and not in effective operation. And these are some of the issues in relation to handling the cable TV media from airing programs in violation to the program code or advertisement code. So there is a call to establish a new mechanism to handle such networks and online news media. The author asks that such a mechanism should make a clear distinction between free speech and hate speech. And this is in order to curb the airing of hate speech. So this is all about this editorial and with this we have come to the end of analysis of both the articles. In the analysis we saw why the world democracies are in chaos. Then we saw some of the issues with respect to India. Then we discussed about some of the issues in handling hate speech. With this we will move on to the next news article. Now have a look at this question. It is based on these two news articles which talk about the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC forum and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP respectively. So in this context let us compare both APEC and RCEP. Know that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum of 21 Asia-Pacific economies. It was established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence among the Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of the regional trade blocs in other parts of the world. Its primary purpose is to promote sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. So why APEC is significant? See APEC's member economies are home to around 2.9 billion people and it represents approximately 60% of the world GDP and 48% of the world trade in 2018. APEC's real GDP growth rates have generally been higher than the rest of the world for most of the past 3 decades. See the idea of APEC originated in 1989 and the founding members were Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, then Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the US of America. In 1991 China, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei joined this agreement. Then Mexico and Papua New Guinea followed in way. Chile as it did in 1994 and in 1998 Peru, Russia and Vietnam joined taking the full membership to 21. Now coming to APEC 2020 it is chaired by Malaysia. Its 3 key priority areas are improving the narrative of trade and investment then inclusive economic participation through digital economy and technology and driving innovative sustainability. And as for the article during this forum the Chinese president has said that China is the pivot for global free trade and it supported open economies. Next let us talk about the regional comprehensive economic partnership or RCEP. See it is frequently seen in news as the agreement came into existence without India's presence. Coming to its genesis the idea of RCEP agreement was first promoted by the ASEAN countries in 2012 in Cambodia. It was proposed among 10 ASEAN countries and the 6 free trade partners of ASEAN. See here the 6 free trade partners of ASEAN are India, China, Japan, South Korea Australia and New Zealand. And know that India was an active negotiator in the RCEP deal from 2012 to 2019 and during Bangkok summit which was held in 2019, India conveyed not to join RCEP due to various reasons. So few days back RCEP came into being with 10 members of ASEAN and 5 of its free trade agreement partners excluding India. And some of the important reasons raised by India for not joining RCEP are the destabilization of India's local economy and the destruction of India's manufacturing industry. And also the present format is highly beneficial for China. So this is all about Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Now see this question consider the following countries United States, Japan, Sri Lanka New Zealand and Russia which of the above are common members of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. See here the correct answer is option B that is Japan and New Zealand. And if you see both US and Russia are in the APEC but not in RCEP. And Sri Lanka is not in both. So the correct answer for this question is option B 2 and 4 only. With this let us move on to the next news. Now this question is with reference to this news article which states that the Jamauddawa chief Hafiz Said was sentenced to 10 years in jail by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan. See Jamauddawa is the front organization for Lashkar Itaiba which was responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai terror attack which killed 166 innocent people. And the news report is that Pakistan is presently in the grey list under monitored jurisdictions of the Financial Action Task Force. And in the last plenary of FETF it was decided to retain Pakistan in the grey list till the next plenary that is till February 2021. And this is because Pakistan failed to fulfill 6 key obligations given by the Financial Action Task Force or FETF And one of them is to take effective action against Hafiz Said and Maulana Mazud Azar. So in this context let us have a brief discussion about the Financial Action Task Force See FETF is an intergovernmental body serving as the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog. It sets international standards that aim to prevent these illegal activities and the harm caused to the society. So as a policy making body FETF works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in the areas of money laundering and terrorist financing It has developed the FETF recommendations or the FETF standards And these standards ensure a coordinated global response to prevent organized crime, corruption and terrorism. And the FETF also monitors the countries to ensure the implementation of the FETF standards fully and effectively. It holds the countries to account that do not comply the standards. So you can connect it with this news. See Pakistan did not comply with the FETF standards and Pakistan is kept in the grey list. As a result many nations and international financial institutions abstain from having financial transactions and relations with the Pakistan government and also other stakeholders of Pakistan. So this creates pressure on Pakistan government to take the FETF standards and obligations Now let us see the membership of FETF. See FETF currently comprises of 37 member jurisdictions and two regional organizations And these members represent most of the major financial centers in all parts of the globe. Also making out of these two regional organizations which are members of FETF With this information see this question Which of the following countries are the members of the financial action task force? We have 5 countries given here. India, Indonesia Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. See in these given countries India is the only SARC country in FETF and also in G20. And know that Indonesia is presently an FETF observer and not its member. But Indonesia is a member of G20. So the correct answer is option D1 only. With this we have completed the analysis of all the relevant news articles from today's The Hindu Newspaper. And now let us move on to the practice questions discussion section based on today's news analysis. See this first question. Under the Banking Regulation Act of 1949, the Reserve Bank of India can suggest for amalgamation of a banking company with any other banking institution. If it is satisfied that, the first option is it is necessary in the public interest. Second option is it is in the interest of the banking system of the country as a whole. Then the third option it is necessary in order to secure the proper management of the banking company. And the fourth option is all of the above. See the correct answer is option D all of the above. We have seen that as per section 45 close during the period of moratorium, if the Reserve Bank is satisfied that in the public interest or in the interest of the depositors or in the interest to secure the proper management of the banking company or in the interest of the banking system of the country as a whole, it is necessary so to do the Reserve Bank of India may prepare a scheme for the reconstruction of the banking company or for the amalgamation of the banking company with any other banking institution. So for this question the correct answer is option D all of the above. And now we have this previous here prelims question which is related to the Metropolitan Planning Committee asked in 2011. Consider the following statements. In India a Metropolitan Planning Committee is constituted under the provisions of the Constitution of India. Yes this statement is correct. Prepares the draft development plans for the metropolitan area. Yes this statement is also correct. And the third statement reads it has the sole responsibility for implementing the government sponsored schemes in the metropolitan area. No this statement is not correct. See there is no such mandate. So here the statement one and statement two are correct and statement three is wrong. We have to identify the correct statement or statements. So the correct answer is option A one and two only. Now here we have a practice question which is related to Metropolitan Planning Committee. Consider the following statements. The Constitution of India mandates the Constitution of Metropolitan Planning Committees. Yes this statement is correct. It is as per the article 243 Z E. And the statement two reads Kamil Nadu is the first state to constitute a Metropolitan Planning Committee in the country. See this statement is incorrect. As we have seen in the discussion of this topic West Bengal is the first state to constitute what is called the Kolkata Metropolitan Planning Committee in the country. So in these given statements we have to identify the incorrect statement or statements. See we have seen that the statement one is correct and statement two is incorrect. So the correct answer is option B two only. Now we have this main practice question. Please write your answers and post it in the comment section. Our feedback will be given in a reasonable time frame. And with this we will come to the end of analysis of all the news articles taken up for today's discussion and also the practice questions discussion. If you like this video press the like button, comment and share and do subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy YouTube channel for latest videos and updates relating to civil service preparation. Thank you.